To satisfy one of the key provisions from last year’s energy policy reform, the Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection hired a procurement manager on Thursday to reduce the cost of electricity in the state.
Jeffrey Gaudiosi, 39, of Windsor is charged with purchasing power for the standard service customers of electric utilities Connecticut Light & Power and United Illuminating. In Connecticut, 58 percent of ratepayers rely on the standard service rate from their electric utility to price their power. The remaining 42 percent contract with a competitive energy supplier who can charge a lower rate or provide sophisticated services such as renewable energy or time-based pricing.
When the General Assembly passed the energy policy reform law in June, one of the main goals was to lower the electric rate. Connecticut has the third highest electric rates in the country behind Hawaii and Alaska. The procurement officer is vital to this role, as he develops plans to reduce the cost of standard service power.
Gaudiosi will start his new position Feb. 10. The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority must approve all his plans.
Gaudiosi is the vice president of the Manufacturing Alliance of Connecticut and vice chairman of the Connecticut Energy Efficiency Board. He is a 1994 graduate of the University of Connecticut and a 1997 graduate of the Quinnipiac College School of Law.
